After 3 decades, Pandits hold special prayers at a Shiv Temple in North Kashmir’s Dhobiwan

After more than three decades, Kashmiri Pandits held special prayers in a Shiv Temple at Dhobiwan village in Tangmarg area of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, locals said. Temple gates were opened for special prayers that were held for strengthening the traditional brotherhood between various communities in the valley.

Those who had gathered for the special prayers believe that the situation has improved in Kashmir in the last couple of years and the number of terror incidents have also decreased. People exuded confidence in the positive steps taken by the administration in order to restore the glory of dilapidated temples. For the last three years, the Jammu and Kashmir government has started renovating the temples in the Kashmir region.

The 700-year-old Mangaleshwar Bhairav Temple in the Baba Demb area of Srinagar was renovated and restored to its original glory. The temple was severely damaged by floods in 2014. In 2022, the prayer bells were heard in the 120-year-old Ganesha temple in Handwara, a town in North Kashmir.

After 33 years, the temple was renovated and opened by the temple management committee with the active help of the Muslim community of the area. Till 2022, this temple had no visitors as Kashmiri Pandits had fled their home as terrorism was on the rise and targeted killings of civilians including Kashmiri Pandits were common in Kashmir in the early nineties.

In May, Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the Sharda Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, which is close to LoC. “35 places across J&K, including temples and Sufi centres, were being renovated at a cost of Rs 65 crore,” Shah said.

Meanwhile, the government is spending a huge amount of money on the renovation of the temple and the project has been handed over to the roads and building department. All the renovation work of the temple is being done in consultation with the Kashmiri Pandit community and is being completed in three phases.

As per the survey done by Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS), there are 1,842 Hindu places of worship in Kashmir including temples, shrines, holly springs, holy caves and holy trees.

Temples destroyed in 1992

Here are the names of the temples being destroyed in 1992 - Kharyar, Somyar, Drabiyar, Dumpora, Ganpatyar, Kathleshwar, Malyar,  Malapoor, Dewan Mandir, Raghunath Mandir, Kali Mandir, Ram Kaul Mandir, Reshi Peer, Shiv Mandir, Roop Bhawani Janam.

In 1989, hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits left behind religious places and houses when Pakistan-sponsored terrorism erupted here. Those days, targeted killings of civilians including Kashmiri Pandits were common in Kashmir, which also led Kashmiri Pandits to migrate to different parts of the country.